BURST
Retirement dreams of a million or so Canadian snowbirds are facing hurdles different from the constrictions of the pandemic or challenges finding travel insurance.
In Palm Springs, California, in Weslaco, Texas, or Yuba City, Arizona, warmth awaits for aching bones amidst palms and prickly pear.
There’s Mexican restaurants where Canadian “Winter Texans” have been treated like gold, maybe a little nest on wheels with lawn chairs and a barbecue on a rented spot with a pool or a casita nearby.
But this year, in the April lull before the southern summer sun renders window cooling units ineffective, some Canadians are waving bye-bye for the foreseeable future.
Postmedia asked for feedback on snowbird social media pages, where hundreds of snowbirds weigh in on everything from available rentals to where to get travel insurance if you’ve been denied because you made a claim.
Won’t go back
After retirement in the U.S., Karen Elliott and her partner returned to Alberta and began their snowbird journeys to Florida, Arizona and Texas.
They were prepared for the dollar disparity. They dealt with the tariffs, but even U.S. friends and family couldn’t get them to return to America next year.
“My biggest issue is the ‘mood swings’ in the current government, the lies (or convenient half-truths) that the current U.S. President spiels publicly about our country and threatening our sovereignty,” Elliott said.
“I find it deplorable, insulting and irresponsible to treat an ally in such a manner, and will remain a proud Canadian who chooses to spend our dollars anywhere but the U.S. in response to that. My moral compass stands at true north strong and free.”
As of April 11, the Alien Registration Requirement executes an executive order from President Donald Trump, entitled Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
Illegal aliens — including Canadian snowbirds — must register to stay in the U.S. for 30 days or longer.
Foreign nationals must keep their proof of registration “in their personal possession at all times.”
Canadians visiting the United States for less than six months have been historically exempt from such registration requirements.
The Canadian Snowbird Association, which has 100,000 members, said in a news release in March that they are actively working “with members of Congress and the Trump administration to rescind this requirement for Canadian citizens.”
“It is our position that this executive order relates to unlawfully present individuals currently in the United States and should not apply to Canadian tourists visiting the U.S. for vacation purposes,” said the release.
Cathrine Robinson is a Barrie, Ont., resident who writes historical romance novels in her retirement.
She and her husband are selling their recently renovated dream winter home on a rented lot just five miles from Orlando’s Disneyworld.
It was a tough decision, Robinson said.
“I think Canadians who insist they are going back to the States next year don’t read the news and are blissfully unaware of what the Trump regime (not administration) is doing.”
To boycott or not
Border crossings to the south are already down by 10 per cent year over year, realtor.com has reported.
If the million Canadian visitors were to withhold the thousands of dollars each couple spent over a three-month winter stay, southern economies could feel pain in the billions of dollars.
Governments will feel a hit to sales taxes. Thousands of jobs could be impacted, with impacts on everyone from insurance companies and restaurants and grocery stores to mechanics — and even Mexican dentists just across the bridge in places like Nuevo Progreso, Mexico.
In New Brunswick, snowbird Brent Stanley said such issues are just all “hype and social media frenzy, sensationalized media and untruths.”
“American people are great, it’s a tariff war between countries that has gone on for years,” Stanley said.
Keith Goforth, a B.C. snowbird, said he may even spend more time south of the border next year, depending on the outcome of Canada’s April 28 federal election.
In fact, he said, “there may be a few million spending more time in the USA.”
Feedback from Americans
According to analysis from the U.S. seniors advocacy group AARP, Trump had older voters to thank for his victory, with the most reliable voters — the 50-plus crowd — favoring him with a five point lead over the Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, turning out as the majority of the electorate in a race when older voters were pinning their hopes on issues like the economy and affordability in retirement.
Wisconsin snowbird Jackie Trapp has a rental in Florida.
“The people in my rental neighborhood and rental city are generally as nice as can be. That said, I completely understand travellers who have changed their plans. I can’t believe what I am seeing daily here as our democracy unravels before my eyes,” Trapp said.
Alberta resident Dave Santi said he has American friends in Arizona who are saddened by the current direction of Trump.
“Many voted for him as they felt someone need to shake the Washington tree on many issues. They didn’t vote to cut the tree down,” Santi said.